How to immediately refresh the network GuestInfo using VMware Tools

Resolving The Problem

Short Description

The VM Summary page in the vSphere UI and if VMware Tools is installed and running, some of the GuestInfo data will be displayed such as networking, polls for every 30 seconds.

What';s Happening

As described in the VMWare blog post titled "How to immediately refresh the network GuestInfo using VMware Tools?" , there is a default polling interval of 30 seconds in which this GuestInfo data is updated. In general, this is not a problem as this type of information does not change frequently.

However, if you are performing an Instant Clone and you are relying on the vSphere API and the GuestInfo data to determine the IP Address of the guest, having to wait up to 30 seconds is not ideal, especially since the actual Instant Clone operation completes in just a few seconds. One option is to change the default polling interval.

Why it';s Happening

Default setting.

How to Fix

With VMware Tools 10.1 or newer, you can initiate an immediate refresh of the networking info, directly from within the guest. To perform the operation, you must have administrator privileges. Use the following commands for each operating system:

Windows:

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\VMwareToolboxCmd.exe info update network

Linux:

/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox-cmd info update network